November Family Fun and Blessings

My goodness, it doesn't seem like November should be ending and December beginning, BUT it is happening and what a wonderful month November has been! 

We started off the month with a family getaway to Gatlinburg TN where we enjoyed the company of Emily, Brannon, Harrison and Silas, Rose, Grandmom, Mom, and Dad. It was so fun having the littles all around and the cousins got along famously! Here are a few shots of the week's fun:-)

Another highlight of the month was having JD and Kaylah over to "help" decorate cookies for Thanksgiving:-) This is something that I do every year with my girls and whichever of the nieces and nephews that can come. Kaylah was NOT interested in anything but eating a cookie, but JD...well, he REALLY got into the icing thing...

This year we felt like the Lord wanted us to do something different for Thanksgiving. We have all year to be "full and thankful" for the Lord's blessings upon our lives because He daily loadeth us with benefits and we wanted to "pour out" instead of "fill up" this Thanksgiving day. Through a friend of mine, we found out about the Ronald McDonald house in Winston-Salem and their need of food for the residents there who did not have a place to go. We excitedly volunteered to make all the bread needed for the day and then got busy! 250 rolls later, I finished, bagged, and loaded them up to make the 2.5 hour drive. What a wonderful day we had! It was busy, but at the end of the day, there was not that "I'm so full-draggy-pooped out-can't wait to go to bed-feeling" that normally accompanies the day. Instead, we were full. Full of the joy that comes from serving others and our Lord! 
There was SOOO much food! I've never seen so much food donated and the people who showed up to organize and cook were amazing! One of the ladies who made several cakes and stayed all day to help was supposed to be on bedrest...instead, she spent her day serving others and I believe the Lord will bless her in a special way for her sacrifices. 
We enjoyed our time of fellowship with "old" friends, Deneen (Mulvaine) Bryan, her husband Steve, and six children.  Addy and Emma hit it off right away and we hardly saw them all day...lol! I did not get as many pictures as Deneen did, but it was SO good catching up on 18 years;-) with her and her family. Many memories were shared throughout the day and our girls made new friends and enjoyed a different day of Thanks-giving! 

 Such a wonderful day! We feel so blessed that the Lord allowed us this opportunity and we look forwards to making it our new Thanksgiving tradition!

Tonight is Handel's Messiah at ABC and a perfect way to end this special November month and begin the month that celebrates the birth of our Saviour and reminds us of all that we have in Christ! Have a blessed Thanksgiving and Christmas Season!

... "be thankful unto Him and bless His name..."

Before this week gets any busier than it already is, I wanted to stop and take a minute to thank the Lord for His wonderful works to the children of men, especially me. I do not deserve what I have been given in Christ. His salvation of my soul is the greatest thing that I have on this earth and what a joy it is to know that had I been the only living being on this earth, He still would have sent His Son to pay for me to be able to accept the gift of eternal life. What a blessing! Nothing that can be given or gotten here on this earth can equal in nature to this most precious gift.

Yes, I am not perfect **aaahhh, didn't know that did you??? hehehehe** and I regret to say that I have not had an attitude of gratefulness lately like I should have. I have let circumstances dictate my attitude of gratefulness and I have let the pressures of life shift my attention from others to self. But God in all His loving kindness reminded me of some much needed spiritual truths this week through preaching and my own private time with Him and I am thankful for that. I cannot imagine trying to work out life without my Lord to lead, guide, reprove, rebuke, and order my steps. Even though He must at times chasten and rebuke, He still loves me and wants me to be a successful Christian so that my life may exemplify His to those around me!

I am looking forwards to showing my gratefulness in a different way this Thanksgiving day. My husband, children, and myself have been given the opportunity to minister to the families staying in the Ronald McDonald house in Winston Salem through preparing and serving dinner to them. Having been in the same situation as many of them are currently in, I know how it encouraged our hearts when others came in and ministered to us during our dark days and we hope that we will be able to do the same! The girls and I will be making homemade bread to serve that day and will begin making our 300 rolls tomorrow afternoon, Lord willing;-)

What better way to say "thank you" to the Lord for His Blessings than to turn and give of those blessings to someone who cannot "bless" you back?  We are looking forwards to spending our day, not stuffing ourselves into an early afternoon nap, but wearing ourselves out for the glory of God! Maybe we will have the opportunity to share the Gospel! Who knows? But this we do know, our God has given us much and as believers in Christ we can let our light so shine by getting out there in the world and letting them see it shine! People don't care how much you know until they know you care!

Have a blessed Thanksgiving and don't forget to not just count your blessings, but SHARE your blessings with those who need it and remember that what they need the most is CHRIST! Pictures to follow...:-)

Today is the day!

Today we head for the mountains:-) Those beautiful beautiful mountains...the kind of place that makes you believe that you could build a cabin and live like a hermit and be perfectly happy! lol!

We haven't been able to come back to the mountains since this past May due to work and crazy schedules, so we are VERY ready for this trip! My parents, sister Rose, sister Emily and her family, and my Grandmother will be joining us for this getaway time. I have only been able to see my sister once in a year so I am looking forwards to seeing her and the boys again!

Will post pictures next weekend! SO thankful the Lord made this trip possible for us....now, to survive a week with two infant boys, 1 three year old boy full of ginger, and 1 Adalyn...lol...it's gonna be F U N !!!

Caleb is sitting up!..well, a little anyways

The day that we thought would never get here has finally gotten here, and now, I wish in some ways that it wasn't here yet. **any mommy's out there have this same feeling?**sigh**:-)

Today, our littlest guy started sitting up on his own. Now, he's a week away from being 8 months and has been a little slower at this than his sisters, but he's at least giving it a pretty good shot! Audrey has been very good at working with him on developing his muscle strength everyday and she has been a big help with that!

He and Adalyn had a fun morning playing with the farm and animals in his room and I got some very sweet pictures:-)

Playing with his sissy!

Playing "superman"...don't want to crawl...just want to fly!

Doesn't this smile just melt your heart?

I'm not sure why the expressions are so conflicting in this picture...hmmm...seems kinda suspicious

Two peas in a pod...nuts....pure nuts!!

He is really starting to enjoy Adalyn now....so long as she does not frantically rub his head...lol!

Playing with his tractor

He thinks he's big stuff now....well, not too big for Mommy still:-)